1975 Letter to the Editor: Yearning for the Latin Mass

The following Letter to the Editor was recently discovered and shared on social media. It was written by a Miss Loretta LaClair to the Vermont Catholic Tribune, the newspaper for the Diocese of Burlington, back in 1975. The newspaper titled the letter, “Yearns for Latin Mass”, and indeed, reading it today is nothing short of heartbreaking. A sense of loss and abandonment is evident throughout the letter. While Miss LaClair has no doubt passed away by now, her heartfelt lament should give us all a renewed sense of purpose as we work for the restoration of the Roman Rite.

To the Editor:

I was pleased to see someone else’s reaction (referring to a previous letter to the editor) to our new Mass.

As an elderly, I find it more difficult to worship. I leave the services with a feeling of despair and frustration rather than spiritual refreshment.

In 1970, I wrote to Bishop Joyce (now retired) asking him if he could find a church in Burlington where one Mass could be held each Sunday in according to our old customs, and again experience the joy of worshipping our Lord.

I begged Bishop Marshall, with the help of Our Lord to give this serious thought for our spiritual life and happiness.

I received a reply from Bishop Joyce, wondering if there is a notable number of people who would like to gather in one place to again hear our Latin Mass together. I was shortly taken ill and unable to collect a list to present to our bishop.

It is only in the last four months that I have been able to attend Mass. As for supporting our parish, we will continue to do so.

I have a record of the Latin Mass. It always brings tears and happy memories.

So now, I am asking any of you who feel the same to help me gather names. We could present them to the bishop. We would then receive the spiritual refreshment that we once received.

This post really hits close to home since this is my diocese. Happily, there is a Latin Mass 6 days a week at St. Anthony Church 920 Flynn Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401. There is a website link https://www.christandanthony.com/ (although searching has to be done to find the Latin Mass listings in the bulletin) and there is a facebook page St. Philip Neri Latin Mass Chaplaincy-Diocese of Burlington Vermont and an email list.